Opinion

If FIA, NAB and police were performing their duties, there would be no need for commissions and media trials

Our democratic prime minister ranks amongst the 12 world leaders who have made it to the Panama list

Pakistan came into existence in a state of trauma. The talk of the day after tomorrow seemed meaningless

The question isn’t whether PM should resign or not, but whether the country is in a position to afford such a shake-up

Tax evasion is a crime. Tax avoidance is not. It is legitimate.

Unlike Sindh, it’s not the parties there that kept militant wings, but militant wings that kept a hold on politics

The withdrawal of the Pakistani state from public welfare has also encouraged non-state welfare, linked with terrorism

Trying to boost agricultural development in Punjab is particularly significant given that it is most populous province

A defiant and indissoluble resolve is growing amongst us to counter the monster we let silently breed

Future of the world will depend on which worldview prevails: Hellenic-cum-Confucian or the religious fundamentalist?

Think of the power of e-learning in places where madrassas or substandard government schools fill the vacuum

Kleptocrats — that’s what we call those why use political power to steal Pakistan’s resources

Bungee jumping has never really taken off in Pakistan — maybe in a metaphorical sense it has been around for a while

Pakistan needs to make up its mind about whether it wants Bollywood

Is stability overrated or is it impulse which is overrated?

Everyday disasters have a higher fatality rate than mega-disasters

What is it doing to our nation, I am often asked. What should we say to our children?

Can the top judiciary propose measures to prevent the collusion between lawyers and the subordinate judiciary?

Why is the women protection bill still facing such vehement opposition from the religious right wing?

Policymakers in India should realise the dangers inherent in destabilising Pakistan

All sides involved in Syrian conflict will have to realise risk of the revival of Cold War-era practices and policies

The real sense of what being a citizen means is a question of identity and requires serious thought

Malik Barkat Ali was a close confidant of Allama Iqbal, who campaigned for his election in January 1937

Despite being the result of a very creative process, Pakistan has always been wary of intellectual activity

Our ruling elite and policy planners are not paying attention to social spaces that facilitate radicalisation

We cannot hope for a realistic economic theory until a more realistic theory of human behavior is adopted

Money for education and health, if well spent, will also increase the confidence of the donor community

Our leaders should learn from world history that fanaticism can’t be appeased

There are examples around the world that through prudent privatisation and will to succeed, we can turn around PIA

March 2016 developments showed that these groups also resorted to violence to pursue their religio-political agenda

The disparaging remarks that Donald Trump addressed to Bush and Blair were richly deserved

I am not sure, and much of the activities of RAW and IB are known to us only through rumour and not fact

The Sharif government seems to be utterly helpless in the face of those who cheer for murder

Punjab is where the ghosts of our policy past come to haunt us

We, the moderates, usually keep stammering until the threat has settled down. What about a bold counternarrative?

Our political and economic relations with Iran since the ouster of the monarchy in that country had remained lukewarm

My government recognises and farmers’ services to the development of the country

How many will die before we realise militant murderers are not all illiterate loafers in search for meaning & purpose

The NSS has drawn varying kinds of criticisms from the participating states as well as from some observers

Business ventures should not be allowed to make profits at the cost of devastating lives of marginalised communities

The list of ‘they’ keeps growing — TTP, Afghan Taliban, ISIS and the like

Between terrorists and law enforcement agencies, the side which demonstrates clarity, dedication & ownership will win

Providing citizens with information is to empower them. The whole edifice of RTI is constructed on this basic fact

Columnists and commentators, myself included, go through the same wash, rinse, spin and repeat cycle

I’m an Indian who feels terrible for Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan and Shahid Afridi

A Girl in The River uses simple cinematic techniques to convey a ghastly reality

Little attention is paid to improving their professional competence in providing security to ordinary citizens

How the suicide bomber was able to get this far into Lahore remains a mystery

Will the government, for the sake of “peace”, barter away some of the fundamental rights of the citizens?

Eradication of child labour should not be limited solely to brick kilns; it must encompass all kinds of child labour